Making Sense of the Life and Works of Carlos Castaneda

Making Sense of the Life and Works of Carlos Castaneda
Author: F. Fleming
Publisher: F Lawrence Fleming
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2018-08-04
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1724656848

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, purportedly a legitimate work of anthropology describing author Carlos Castaneda's apprenticeship to a Mexican Indian sorcerer, was first published in 1968, and was followed by eleven more books by this author. All of his books achieved a very wide readership. To the dismay of many of his devoted readers, however, Castaneda has been shown to have been a charlatan, arguably the most infamous charlatan of the twentieth century. But what if the Mexican sorcerer, Juan Matus, with whom Castaneda claimed he had studied, were shown to have been a real person? I believe the circumstantial evidence strongly suggests that he was. Might these books not be read or reread with replenished interest and purpose?

Shaman

Shaman
Author: Mike Sager
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2020-09-04
Genre:
ISBN: 9781950154197

Some say he was a breakthrough academic and visionary shaman. Others say he was a sham. Either way, Carlos Castaneda shaped a generation of mystical thinkers and magic mushroom eaters. In 1968, at the height of the psychedelic age, Castaneda published The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, the first of twelve books describing his apprenticeship to an Indian shaman, and his journeys to the "separate reality" of the sorcerers' worlds. Like Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf and Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, The Teachings of Don Juan and its sequels became essential reading for legions of truth seekers. Castaneda himself became a cult figure-seldom seen, nearly mythological, a cross between Timothy Leary and L. Ron Hubbard: a short, dapper, Buddha-with-an-attitude who likened his own appearance to that of a "Mexican bellhop." Though Castaneda had more than ten million books in print in seventeen languages, he lived in wily anonymity for nearly thirty years, doing his best, in his own words, to become "as inaccessible as possible." Most people figured he had a house somewhere in the Sonoran Desert, where he'd studied with his own teacher, a leathery old Indian brujo named Don Juan Matus. In truth, Castaneda lived and wrote for most of that time in Westwood Village, a neighborhood of students and professors in Los Angeles, not far from UCLA and Beverly Hills. Upon his death in 1998, things became even more murky. A year-long investigation into the mysterious life and impeccable death of Carlos Castaneda, as told by his wife, his adopted son, his mistresses, and his followers.

A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda

A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda
Author: Margaret Runyan Castaneda
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2001
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0595153186

Carlos Castaneda burst onto the academic and cultural scene in 1968 when he published the first of four books detailing his supposed apprenticeship with a Yaqui Indian sorcerer named Don Juan. While academic critics contend Castaneda invented Don Juan, believers say the fog surrounding his existence express the very ideals that Castaneda attributed to his apprenticeship. Little is known of the Peruvian claiming to be Don Juan's apprentice, but in addition to leading a generation into a mystical otherworld, Carlos Castaneda was also a man. Married to him for thirteen years was Margaret Runyan Castaneda. A Magical Journey with Carlos Castaneda reads partly like a love story, partly like a tell-all account of a celebrity writer. Margaret Castaneda concentrates on the years leading up to her marriage in 1960. It was then Margaret and Carlos explored many of the ideas -- from controlling dreams to using hallucinogenic mushrooms -- that he claims to have learned from Don Juan. Nevertheless, Margaret Castenada believes her husband was indeed a sorcerer, and she still loves him. She insists Castaneda's academic critics miss the point. "I'm willing to accept Don Juan as a spiritual teacher, and it really doesn't matter if he's not real." But the role she claims -- in developing the ideas Carlos purports to be Don Juan's -- ought to be recognized, she says, so she wrote this book.

Sorcerer's Apprentice

Sorcerer's Apprentice
Author: Amy Wallace
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1583942068

Sorcerer’s Apprentice opens with Amy Wallace’s first meeting with Carlos Castaneda, the infamous anthropologist-turned-shaman, whose books described meetings with Yaqui Indian spiritual teacher don Juan. Castaneda’s rise was meteoric in the late 1960s as he wrote massive bestsellers, inspired many to experiment with psychedelics, and was dubbed “the Godfather of the New Age.” The possibility that Castaneda’s experiences may have been fabricated did little to compromise his legend.As the daughter of best-selling novelist Irving Wallace, Amy was rarely shy around famous people. When her father insisted she meet Castaneda, she at first demurred. Little did she know that a delightful first meeting would begin a 20-year friendship, followed by her descent into the dramatic and deeply troubled affair chronicled in this book. Sorcerer’s Apprentice unblinkingly reveals the inner workings of the “Cult of Carlos,” run by a charismatic authoritarian in his sixties who controlled his young female followers through emotional abuse, mind games, bizarre rituals, dubious teachings, and sexual excess. Wallace’s story is both specific and universal, a captivating cautionary tale about the dangers of giving up one’s power to a tyrant–and about surviving assaults on body and spirit.

Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living

Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living
Author: Steve Fogel
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2014-03-11
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1626340595

How Can You Use Your Mind to Transform Your Brain to Make Yourself Happier? Your default programming—the automatic choices all of us make in life without even noticing—can sabotage you, but you can learn to interrupt your self-defeating behavior and make better choices. Steven J. Fogel shares what scientists have discovered about your ability to “rewire” your brain to act in ways that will make you happier and offers sage advice about how to resolve long-term dysfunctional relationships that are causing you stress, frustration, and pain. Put the past where it belongs—in the past. Be mindful, live in the present, and lead a fulfilling life full of possibilities!

The Power of Silence

The Power of Silence
Author: Carlos Castaneda
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2013-03-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1439121850

A journey into the secrets of shamanism continues as “don Juan takes Casteneda to the deeper realms of his teachings” (Milwaukee Journal). Carlos Castaneda takes the reader into the very heart of sorcery, challenging both imagination and reason, and shaking the very foundations of our belief in what is “natural” and “logical.” The Power of Silence is a brilliant flash of knowledge that illuminates the far reaches of the human mind. Through don Juan Matus’s mesmerizing stories, the true meaning of sorcery and magic is finally revealed. Honed in the desert of Sonora, the visions of don Juan give us the vital secrets of belief and self-realization that are transcendental and valid for us all. It is Castaneda’s unique genius to show us that all wisdom, strength, and power lie within ourselves—unleashed with marvelous energy and imaginative force in the teachings of don Juan—and in the writings of his famous pupil, Carlos Castaneda. “We are incredibly fortunate to have Carlos Castaneda’s books.” —The New York Times “His insights paved the way for the future evolution of human consciousness. We are all deeply indebted to him.” —Deepak Chopra

The Wheel Of Time

The Wheel Of Time
Author: Carlos Castaneda
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2009-11-24
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1439186731

World-renowned bestselling author Carlos Castaneda's selection of his writings on the shamans of ancient Mexico. Originally drawn to Yaqui Indian spiritual leader don Juan Matus for his knowledge of mind-altering plants, bestselling author Carlos Castaneda soon immersed himself in the sorcerer’s magical world entirely. Ten years after his first encounter with the shaman, Castaneda examines his field notes and comes to understand what don Juan knew all along—that these plants are merely a means to understanding the alternative realities that one cannot fully embrace on one’s own. In Journey to Ixtlan, Carlos Castaneda introduces readers to this new approach for the first time and explores, as he comes to experience it himself, his own final voyage into the teachings of don Juan, sharing with us what it is like to truly “stop the world” and perceive reality on his own terms.

Tales of Power

Tales of Power
Author: Carlos Castaneda
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 303
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1476730997

“We are incredibly fortunate to have Carlos Castaneda’s books. Tales of Power has brought us closer to understanding the teaching behind all the magic.” —The New York Times Book Review Bestselling author Carlos Castaneda’s groundbreaking works exploring the inspirational teachings of Yaqui spiritual leader don Juan Matus have enchanted millions of readers. With each lesson Castaneda gleans from his enigmatic teacher, he perceives a new reality based on the sorcerer’s mystical world. Tales of Power is the dynamic and captivating conclusion to don Juan’s teachings, where he imparts his most powerful and mysterious wisdom with a dazzling series of visions that are at once a spiritual initiation and a deeply moving farewell. Praise for Carlos Castaneda and Tales of Power “It is impossible to view the world in quite the same way.” —Chicago Tribune “Carlos Castaneda is one of the most profound and influential thinkers of this century. His insights are paving the direction for the future evolution of human consciousness.” —Deepak Chopra “The present book takes Carlos to the edge of the abyss itself, on an excursion into the unknown (the nagual) that represents the death of his personal, historical self (his tonal). Don Juan, his patient teacher, and don Genaro, his lively, acrobatic benefactor, must say farewell to him. They cannot help him any longer: he is totally alone, free, a warrior at last . . . Like all art . . . the work resists and transcends conventional categories of labeling.” —Psychology Today “Hypnotic reading.” —Time “One of the important statements of our time.” —Book World

The Teachings of Don Juan

The Teachings of Don Juan
Author: Carlos Castaneda
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2016-05-03
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0520290763

In 1968 University of California Press published an unusual manuscript by an anthropology student named Carlos Castaneda.ÊThe Teachings of Don Juan enthralled a generation of seekers dissatisfied with the limitations of the Western worldview. Castaneda's now classic book remains controversial for the alternative way of seeing that it presents and the revolution in cognition it demands. Whether read as ethnographic fact or creative fiction, it is the story of a remarkable journey that has left an indelible impression on the life of more than a million readers around the world.